I called a Nissan dealer today and ask for the price. He told me $387.00. Is this a good price? Another thing is I have about 67k miles on my car. I bought it at 59xxx miles and never realized the previous owner didn't do the 60k tune up. Is it bad to go 7000 miles over the scheduled tune up?

 

What is being done for the $387 cost? 7,000 miles over the 60,000 won't kill your car. It's what the previous owner did from 0-59xxx is what really matters.

 

Seems high for fluid, filters, and spark plug changes. Might want to try a private shop. Go to some maxima websites and they'll tell u waht is needed for 60K tuneup.

 

I bought my car a year ago and it had 43000 on it and now it has 70000. I was thinking about doing that tuneup also but the car is still running perfect. I figure soon I'll change the plugs but until I start to notice the engine vibrating like crazy, I am not going to mess with it.

 

No harm was done by delaying the 60K service procedure.

$387 is a lot of money. The 60K service consists of new spark plugs, air filter, coolant replacement, oil and filter change. Everything else is in the category of "inspect this, inspect that". The 60K service does not have to be done by the dealer. It can be done by an independent shop or by the owner himself. If you like to do your own "wrenching" you can do the 60K service in your own driveway for less than $100.

 

to get mine done at the dealer. Now if you ask me if its worth it I will have to say NO. Like the others say if you are handy you could do the job on your own. After looking at my bill I would say atleast $350 dollars was for labor and the rest was for parts.
Later:Jose
QUOTE]Originally posted by 97BlackMaxSE
I called a Nissan dealer today and ask for the price. He told me $387.00. Is this a good price? Another thing is I have about 67k miles on my car. I bought it at 59xxx miles and never realized the previous owner didn't do the 60k tune up. Is it bad to go 7000 miles over the scheduled tune up? [/QUOTE]

 

I know I did the 60K tune up at the dealer and paid about the same($350+). Learned my lesson! Now I am upto the 90K tune-up. Is it the same thing, or am I looking at aditional things? I want to do it myself this time.

Thanks

 

The 90K service procedure is the same as the 60K service except you don't replace the spark plugs.

 

I would agree the price of $350+ whatever it was sounds really cheap to me. The dealer I bought my car from wants just about $600 as well as the dealer that I go to now! I did mine in steps though, fuel filter, plugs, I think I'll get the coolant changed here pretty soon now.

Doesn't the dealer also lubricate hinges and other things around the chassis and what not?

 

Well actually, I'm pretty car illiterate. I don't know how to do jack when it comes to cars except change the oil. Is the tune up hard to do by myself since I'm so car illiterate? Can anyone give me specific direction? One more thing, I have the extended warranty, will doing it by myself void the warranty? Thanks alot.

 

if you do it yourself, you won't void the warranty. Tuneup? take the old spark plugs out and put a the new one in.

What is the rest?
Tranny fluid
coolant
fuel filter
air filter
oil change and new filter
Isn't that the rest?

 

If you look carefully at the list of things they do at all tuneups, more than half of the paper will be filled up with "check tire pressure" "check fluid levels"... check this and check that. The things they actually do are spark plugs, oil change, simple things any private mechanics do for less. Its not worth the money!. Half of it you can do yourself with little effort, if no time, private nissan specialists can be a lot cheaper!

 

I would say find a good independent shop (not a chain shop) and take your car there. I have a great mechanic in San Francisco who works on all my family's cars. The guy is very honest and ALWAYS charges way less than the dealer, and he does excellent work.

Take your car to the dealer and not only will they lighten your wallet, but also get you ****ed off in the process. Dealers can never get the "customer satisfaction" thing right, especially Nissan dealers.

 

They are going to charge me $458 for the 60K tuneup. What's sounds kinda cool is that they let me drive a loaner for the day, I just wonder what it would be, maybe a newer Max? I dunno. I'm about to do everything I can possibly do myself, like the oil & filter, spark plugs, hopefully the fuel filter, coolant flush, I don't know about this PCV valve thing? I'd rather save my money and get something I can enjoy rather than have some mechanic lie to me and say they changed it. This is ridiculous....

 

$458 for the 60k service is the usual dealer marked up price. They have to pay the service writers, the techs, the guy who drives the shuttle service, the cashier who takes your credit card, and the kid who hoses off your car before they return it to you. The bulk of the charge they will tell you, is "labor" which amounts to about 30 minutes worth of inspection (if they even do it).

FYI, my independent mechanic (like most good independents) charges around $250 for the 60k service, and he changes everything for that price using genuine Nissan parts. So I still suggest that people who are past their bumper to bumper warranty to just go to an independent shop instead. Sure it may not be as elegant as a dealership, but your bank account will thank you for it.

As for the PCV valve, it is a $7 part (well, dealer will charge you $18 for it). Labor to replace it is almost negligible, takes like five minutes or so. However, it is likely that the PCV valve will last the life of your car. A way to test it is to remove it, shake it, and if it rattles, it's ok so just put it back in.

 

In the Silicon Valley area?
I know a few good cheap mechanics in L.A. that I trust to work on my car, but since I moved here to Silicon Valley, I am a bit scared to just randomly pick a mechanic here.
Also what's up with this $2.20 gas? And they are saying it will only go up by this summer. Damn premium loving VQ.